Automating a Castle Serenity (or really any pellet stove with an IR remote)

[mmcc]

Hi All - I posted this previously, but I just realized that it was in the wrong forum...

I recently put a Castle Serenity in my workshop, replacing a wood stove. This is a separate building set up as a woodworking shop, but which has mostly been acting as my home office. My main driver in the switch was so I could automatically start the fire and warm the place up before head out there in the morning.

The Serenity has auto ignition and a built in scheduling function, but instead of using this scheduling function, I'm going down the path of using a home automation package called Home Assistant. This is a free, open source package, and it can interface with all sorts of "smart home" gizmos.

Home Assistant

Open source home automation that puts local control and privacy first. Powered by a worldwide community of tinkerers and DIY enthusiasts. Perfect to run on a Raspberry Pi or a local server.

www.home-assistant.io

To command the Serenity, I'm using a universal IR gizmo:

Amazon product ASIN B07ZSF46BX
Conveniently, the IR gizmo has an optional USB cable with a built in temperature and humidity sensor:

Amazon product ASIN B081F3C4T4
So far, I've been able to have Home Assistant "learn" all of the commands from the remote control that came with the Serenity, and I've created scripts that will start up the stove, change its heat setting, and turn it off. Soon, I plan to use Home Assistant to start up the stove in the morning, and then put it into thermostat control.

If anyone is interested in trying something similar and has any questions, please let me know. I'm far from an expert on Home Assistant or my wood stove, but I'm fumbling forward.

 

[johneh]

Lord, I must be getting old I have no idea
what he said and have no desire to learn
at 71 just give me an on/off switch, please

 

[Ssyko]

Lord, I must be getting old I have no idea
what he said and have no desire to learn
at 71 just give me an on/off switch, please

X2

 

[scajjr2]

Does the built in scheduling not do what you are trying to do?

sam

 

[tlc1976]

I want to do something like that with mine. But not with an Alexa or whatever. Does it work standalone on WiFi? For the price of a set of WiFi relays and physically hacking my remote, I could just teach it the remote commands.

I want to get a WiFi camera to monitor the stove and temp, and a WiFi relay set so I can control the stove when I’m away. Would be nice to turn it off after it warms up outside, or fire it up a few hours before I get home, or just cycle it as needed when away, and in any case, save pellets.

 

[SidecarFlip]

It's a damn biomass stove, not a laptop. IMO. the more complex you make something, the more prone to failure it becomes..

 

[tlc1976]

It's a damn biomass stove, not a laptop. IMO. the more complex you make something, the more prone to failure it becomes..

If one was hacking the stove run settings or whatever, then I agree. But what me or the OP are thinking of is nothing but controlling WHEN the stove runs and does it’s auto ignite, run, and shutdown cycle. The stove knows no different than someone pointing the remote at it and turning it on or off.

 

[railfanron]

I'm going to put mine on an Ecobee Smart thermostat next month. It's already on a programmable thermostat but I want to be able to take advantage of Geofencing. The main furnace is on an Ecobee and it's geofenced. When I'm about 4miles from home the thermostat turns itself down to 62 degrees. I want the same for the pellet stove. When I'm on my way home when I get 4 miles away the furnace goes back to it's normal temp. I get about half my heat from each appliance but the furnace gives me air cleaning and humidification automatically. I think geofencing is the best feature of the smart stats. My stove has been on a programmable stat since it was new with no problems at all except a 54 dollar igniter after 5 years. I easily saved that in pellet consumption. House is 2250 sq ft and the workshop is 1600 sq ft. I heat the house, potable hot water full time and the workshop part time on 600 gallons of propane and 2 1/2 tons of pellets. That also runs the stand by generator as well if needed.
Ron

 

[SidecarFlip]

Only time geofencing concerns me is when I'm flying my Autel EVO drone.....

My stove isn't auto light anyway. It's manual light with starter gel.

 

[SidecarFlip]

My wife was looking at a 'Nest' Thermostat before Christmas and asked me if I was Interested. I replied no. Not for 150 bucks. My 20 buck Honeywell digital handles the stove just fine and the Lux setback digital handles the condensing furnace just fine too. I'm electronically challenged, bad enough having this laptop and even worse have a couple drones.

Took me a good while to figure out all the stuff my drones do, but I like flying from the ground. Camera drones are a great way to see things from aloft that you never see on the ground. Like everything else. the price of admission for a good one is pretty steep.

 

[zrock]

Thats a good idea if you like messing with computers and electronics. To me this is old tech now with the wifi thermostats and such.. I used to play with that stuff in my younger days more for amusement than anything else..

 

[railfanron]

Got my first Ecobee 4 for free plus the sales tax from consumers power. They had this offer for businesses. Since my workshop is considered commercial power with it's own meter I qualified. The second one is an Ecobee 3 lite and I can get one of those for 90 bucks. so for a little over a 100 bucks I'll have 2. My stove runs on full automatic and has done so since it was new with no problems so Geofencing make sense to me.
Ron

 

[mmcc]

Does the built in scheduling not do what you are trying to do?

sam

Using Home Assistant will give me more options if I ever decide to get more fancy - like change what time to start it in the morning based on how cold it is outside, or vary the heating level based on the same, or make more intricate schedules blah blah blah. Or maybe turn the stove on when someone opens the garage door. That last one is a very bad idea, but it would be pretty easy to do.

 

[mmcc]

I want to do something like that with mine. But not with an Alexa or whatever. Does it work standalone on WiFi? For the price of a set of WiFi relays and physically hacking my remote, I could just teach it the remote commands.

I want to get a WiFi camera to monitor the stove and temp, and a WiFi relay set so I can control the stove when I’m away. Would be nice to turn it off after it warms up outside, or fire it up a few hours before I get home, or just cycle it as needed when away, and in any case, save pellets.

I'm not involving Alexa or the like. You do need a PC or a raspberry pi to act as the server, and you need your gizmo to issue commands. The one I linked to above works over WiFi, and I've had Home Assistant learn all of the IR commands. So, Home Assistant can issue all of the same commands that the remote can.

All of the things you mention should be doable. I haven't made mine accessible from the internet, bit I'm pretty sure it is possible. That would involve a lot more security concerns of course.

 

[mmcc]

If one was hacking the stove run settings or whatever, then I agree. But what me or the OP are thinking of is nothing but controlling WHEN the stove runs and does it’s auto ignite, run, and shutdown cycle. The stove knows no different than someone pointing the remote at it and turning it on or off.

But it would be fun to be able to vary the air flow and pellet feed rates with more precision in order to optimize BTU output, perhaps varying it based on atmospheric pressure, temperature, and altitude. Burner control can get complicated

I work in industrial automation - to me this is fun.

 

[johneh]

My head hurts

 

[mmcc]

I'm going to put mine on an Ecobee Smart thermostat next month. It's already on a programmable thermostat but I want to be able to take advantage of Geofencing. The main furnace is on an Ecobee and it's geofenced. When I'm about 4miles from home the thermostat turns itself down to 62 degrees. I want the same for the pellet stove. When I'm on my way home when I get 4 miles away the furnace goes back to it's normal temp. I get about half my heat from each appliance but the furnace gives me air cleaning and humidification automatically. I think geofencing is the best feature of the smart stats. My stove has been on a programmable stat since it was new with no problems at all except a 54 dollar igniter after 5 years. I easily saved that in pellet consumption. House is 2250 sq ft and the workshop is 1600 sq ft. I heat the house, potable hot water full time and the workshop part time on 600 gallons of propane and 2 1/2 tons of pellets. That also runs the stand by generator as well if needed.
Ron

That's slick! I think Home Assistant can do something similar, but you have to put an app on your phone to relay your location. I've not messed around with it, but here is a little info:

Setting up presence detection

Instructions on how to set up zone presence detection within Home Assistant.

www.home-assistant.io

 

[tlc1976]

I’ve learned a little on this subject in the last few weeks. I posted to a smart home forum and they recommended the BroadLink RM4. After coming back here I realized that’s what you got. So I ordered one with the temperature probe from Amazon for $30 and got it today. It works nicely. I just wish it would display the temperature in F but for the price it’s fine. I also got a camera with microphone coming from Lowe’s for $20 so I can monitor the stove and as a bonus it will double as a security and driveway cam.

During shoulder seasons it will be nice, I can save a lot of pellets over time and not have to make the decision every morning to leave the stove on or turn it off. Kick it off mid morning, or back on at dark if I end up working late. The camera will be nice anytime as I can hear a blower going out or whatever, see error codes, it’s very rare but stuff does happen. I can set up temperature triggers in BroadLink too.

Home assistant looks interesting but then I need another device, so at least for now I’ll pass.

 

[tlc1976]

I figured out how to display the units in F. It’s not under the device settings but under the “Me” settings. Doing this also puts the routine temperature selections in F. I’ve already made a routine to send me an alert for any temperature from 13 to 24C and I’m already getting used to C.

 

[emtech]

So far, I've been able to have Home Assistant "learn" all of the commands from the remote control that came with the Serenity, and I've created scripts that will start up the stove, change its heat setting, and turn it off. Soon, I plan to use Home Assistant to start up the stove in the morning, and then put it into thermostat control.

If anyone is interested in trying something similar and has any questions, please let me know. I'm far from an expert on Home Assistant or my wood stove, but I'm fumbling forward.

I recently bought a house with this stove, but do not have the remote. Would you mind sharing the commands with me? I have a very similar setup.
Thanks

 

[SidecarFlip]

Got my first Ecobee 4 for free plus the sales tax from consumers power. They had this offer for businesses. Since my workshop is considered commercial power with it's own meter I qualified. The second one is an Ecobee 3 lite and I can get one of those for 90 bucks. so for a little over a 100 bucks I'll have 2. My stove runs on full automatic and has done so since it was new with no problems so Geofencing make sense to me.
Ron

I don't care for geofencing at all. Why I fly an EVO drone versus a DJI (which I also have). Autel don't bundle geofencing with their drones, fine with me.

A remote t'stat is all I need anyway.

 

[mmcc]

I recently bought a house with this stove, but do not have the remote. Would you mind sharing the commands with me? I have a very similar setup.
Thanks

Sorry for the delay - I just sent the info in a PM.

 

[mmcc]

My home automation system came in handy for a somewhat kludegy purpose. My Serenity was not starting up reliably when it was below 30 degrees F. I talked to Castle's support, and was told that they had a batch of auger motors go out with the wrong kind of grease, which is apparently too stiff at cold temps.

They sent me a replacement motor, but I don't really want to change it out right now - I want to be warm! So I took off the side panel of the stove and put a small electric space heater beside the stove pointed inward. An hour before the stove startup is kicked off, I run the space heater to preheat my auger motor. Works a treat

 

[Don2222]

Hello
I just use Samsung Smart Things App which is a free download to my smart phone. It is a supported App that works with many appliances.
I use it with my old Iris WiFi T-Stat or other T-Stats to turn my workshop Harman advance on and off. The Harman regulates the temperature I set on the stove control. It works well.
It is 53 Deg F in there right now. See Pic
I will turn it on soon.

 

[EnPfhy]

Hey OP, I'm glad I found your post. What you've done is basically my ideal setup that I didn't even think was possible with my Castle Serenity.

I see your link or links were removed but from the comments it looks like the IR device you use is the BroadLink RM4, is that right? I think I need to pick that up. I was hoping you could tell me about any other accessories you needed, or which version you bought, or just any general wisdom you could share. Anything would be much appreciated.